Poland summons Lithuania envoy over ethnic Poles

WARSAW, April 19 (Reuters) - Poland's foreign ministry
summoned the Lithuanian ambassador in Warsaw on Tuesday to
express concern over the treatment of its Baltic neighbour's
Polish-speaking minority.

The move is the latest sign of increased tensions between
the two countries, which are both members of the European Union
and of NATO, over a growing list of complaints, including the
treatment of ethnic Poles and Polish investors in Lithuania.

The ministry said it had expressed concern to Ambassador
Loreta Zakareviciene about "a growing ... atmosphere of enmity"
in Lithuania towards its Polish-speaking population.

Vilnius has already distanced itself from recent
nationalistic comments by some Lithuanian educators cited by
Poland.

"We should not let radicals prevail. The (Lithuanian)
government wants emotions to be left aside, so the normal
dialogue (with Poland) continues," said Virgis Valentinavicius,
a spokesman for Lithuania's prime minister.

The two countries have had generally friendly ties since the
fall of communism in 1989 and Lithuania's regaining of its
independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But Warsaw has long fretted about the rights of the Polish
minority in Lithuania, which makes up around 7 percent of the
small Baltic republic's population, over issues ranging from the
spelling of Polish names to land disputes and education.

Tensions have been exacerbated by complaints from Poland's
top refiner PKN Orlen PKNA.WA, which is considering selling
its Lithuanian unit, accusing Vilnius of failing to ensure it
more accessible oil supplies.
(Reporting by Chris Borowski in Warsaw and Nerijus Adomaitus in
Vilnius)